Stress Relief
by ScaraMedn
Summary: Stress can kill. Jack has witnessed this first hand. When it gets to be too much for him to handle, he turns to his partner and mate for a little TLC. The question is, how "tender" will she be? And how tender will Jack be afterwards?


A/N:

This was a writer's block remedy piece I wrote months ago and ignored. Then, I found it and sent it to my friends for their opinions. It was unanimous: post it. Who am I to argue?

Eclipsis, Damlone, OnceNever, Blueberry and KT are the ones who helped this happen. Be sure to thank them if you enjoy this little tale. And if you want to give me a hand with making more of this happen, my Ko-fi site will welcome you.

I'm not sure is this will become more than a one-shot, but I'm keeping my options open for now. Opinions on that, as well as any feedback, is always welcome.

Now, onward to impropriety!

* * *

Jack parked his sedan in the space reserved for him at his apartment and plodded his way to the elevators. It had been a very long day. As much as being an international mammal of mystery was full of sultry mystique and spurious glamour, it also involved meetings and paperwork. Usually, those were also followed by paperwork and meetings; and then more paperwork punctuated by conversations in rooms designed specifically for meetings.

Jack hated meetings.

The missions he ran around the world and all the good things he did for Mammalia came at a price. Not just in form of risk to his life and limb, but to his sanity. He was a youngish buck, still. He had far too many grey hairs for a hare in his later thirties and he was absolutely positive that the company brass was keeping count. Whichever one caused him to get the most was going to get a prize of some sort, Jack was sure of it. Otherwise, there was no reason for every single one to be such spectacular pains in his tail.

All week he'd been trapped in meetings. All bloody week. Finally, he was set to go off and actually carry out the operation he'd been planning for over a month. A month of planning and this past week of unnecessarily stressful meetings all to set up a minor "get in, steal the documents, get out" operation. It would take half an hour and he was in no shape to handle it.

Contrary to the stories told about him, Jack was not indestructible. He was flesh and blood.

Stress can kill, or cripple, especially when endured for extended periods and Jack was keenly aware of how stressed he was. If he wanted to pull off this triflingly minor job he needed to fix that. If he didn't he'd get killed, or worse, fail.

Fortunately, his path to salvation was lounging naked in the den when he walked in. His mate of two years and partner for a dozen, Skye Winters.

She looked up from her book as she heard his footsteps and winced. "That bad, baby?"

"Worse," Jack grumbled in reply.

"How many?"

"Meetings? Or egotistical, arse covering twits?"

"Never mind. Obviously, it was too many of both."

Jack flopped onto the couch and groaned, "Quite."

"When do you leave?"

"We finally finished the last of the prep today, so I fly out at midnight tomorrow."

"Twenty-seven hours."

"To mentally prepare myself." Jack snorted in disgust.

Skye smiled to herself as she thought of what would help her mate prepare himself. "So… did you just want to wear out our new sheets? Or…"

"Or…?"

"Something more playful?"

Jack blushed.

That turn of phrase was one his mate used when she was in a mood for a little fun; the kind that certainly would alleviate his stress and always ended with wearing out their linens. The question was how they got there.

"Well, Jack, since you're being all coy, it's up to me." She leaned in close with a devious grin on her muzzle and asked, "This is your chance… Paw, or paddle?"

Now, he knew what she was after and he loved it. A smile was edging onto his lips and his heartrate was climbing. He was feeling better already. "Both?"

"Naughty little wabbit, aren't you?" Skye chuckled. "Go get ready."

Jack hopped up from his seat with far more vigor than when he'd sat down and trotted to the bedroom to undress. Skye watched him go with a fond smile. He was something special to every mammal who knew him, but to her he was absolutely singular; priceless. She would do anything to make his life better, including indulging in the many pleasures they could share. This was one of them.

Skye had never considered alternate lifestyles until she'd met Jack. Since then, her world had expanded hugely in terms of her personal preferences. She'd never dated outside her species, before. Never had a long-term relationship. Never understood the point of commitment, or wanted to put in the effort. Now, she was happily committed to a hare and had been for two years as mates and two more, dating. She'd never been happier and did her best to make sure she showed it as often as she could. This, she mused as she collected her plastic paddle from a drawer in the entertainment center, was just another way to do it.

When Skye had met her mate, he was a mammal in control at all times. He worked constantly and to the detriment of his health. About four years into their partnership, Jack decided to work himself into collapsing in the office. Their boss had ordered him home and her to babysit him, so he wouldn't keep working at home. He'd been a nightmare. After days of catching him checking emails and writing reports, she got angry. The fight that followed was brutal and confusing.

They'd shouted at each other for almost two hours when Jack couldn't keep his composure and threw his desk clock at the wall in a fit of pique. Skye's training kicked in and she used her superior size to her advantage. He was her senior agent and far more skilled, but he was incensed to the point of inattention. The distracted hare found himself pinned to the ground with her on top of him, locking his wrists above his head with one paw and his legs with hers. It was extremely effective, especially with her second paw free. Every move he made was countered, or constricted to the point of uselessness.

After some minutes of attempts to break free, he finally gave up struggling and huffed, "Get off me, Miss Winters."

"With you throwing a tantrum? I'll pass, but thank you for offering."

"It was a momentary lapse. It will not happen again." A small tremor shook the buck's frame as he spoke.

"Not gonna happen, Jackie," Skye replied, lightly. "Not until you're calm, so get comfy. We're going to be here a while."

"I am perfectly calm. Now, let me up."

"You're trying to use your training to mask it, but you're shifting your body every few seconds. All you're thinking about is getting back to work."

"Yes. I'm thinking about the reports I have left to do and the prep for our next briefing and the field assignment we have next week and-"

"And, and, and… And all those can wait until you are relaxed enough to not be a nervous wreck, again."

Jack writhed in her grip for a moment, but didn't try to escape. His paws started to shake and his breathing became agitated. "Don't you see? I have to work. It's my job and I have to do it."

"That's idiotic, Jack. You can't go at one-hundred percent all the time. Trying got you blacking out at work and ordered home. We're here because of that!"

"I know! I don't want to be like this, but I can't stop. I'm always in charge. Always in control. I have to be and it's killing me. Can you believe that this is the most relaxed I've been in years?"

"This? With me holding you down?"

"Gods, yes. For once, I'm not in control!"

Skye realized that as much as Jack trembled, he was obviously not afraid, or angry. His shivering was nervous energy bleeding off. Being forced to stay still was actually helping him.

"So, you're telling me that I need to immobilize you to make you relax?"

"Apparently."

"Or…" the vixen mused, "That I need to be the one in charge of more around here."

"You are too inexperienced to handle more responsibilities."

"I agree. In the office I'm not ready to take on any more. Outside of work is another matter."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Granted."

"What?"

"Jack, as of this moment you are not in charge when we leave work. You're good about keeping your hours, so it won't be too much of a change."

"That's preposterous."

"No. It's a fact. Afterhours, I'm in charge. There will be no unpaid overtime off the clock and no more stress-induced blackouts. It's a simple solution to both of our problems."

"Mine is clearly stress management, but what is yours?"

"My mentor blacking out and delaying my training because he's forced into mandatory leave."

The buck gaped like a fish in the face of her flat, even expression. She had him dead to rights. His failure to maintain his own equipoise and stay healthy had inconvenienced her career and delayed their work. It was intolerable to him. She could see it in his eyes.

"Very well," he grumbled at length. "How do you propose we go about this?"

"For one thing, I'm calling the shots for the rest of your leave. If you even think about work, I'll tell the Director and you'll be out longer. Understood?" Jack nodded, barely on the dignified side of sullen. "Good. The second part is simple. I've been assigned quarters next door to you for the term of this leave. I'll request that it's made permanent, so I can keep an eye on you and we can get you back to full strength. Agreed?"

"Agreed, Miss Winters."

"It's Skye, Jack. Outside of work I'm just Skye."

That conversation had changed a lot for the two then-partners. Skye found herself taking more of an authoritative tone in their lives and Jack started to work on his stress management. While in her case it led to good things, Jack was not so successful. None of the techniques he researched worked for him. Before long, he was feeling unwell, again, and Skye caught it before their boss did.

"Come on, Jack, what's the problem?"

"None of the things I've tried have done anything for me."

"Nothing has worked? Nothing at all?"

"Breathing exercises, meditation, herbal teas, yoga, visualization, classical music…" Jack listed off all the things he'd tried on his fingers. "They all work as long as I'm actively doing them, but the moment I stop I'm tense again within minutes."

"So, yeah. Nothing's worked."

Jack flopped into his living room's armchair and grumbled, "Only being pinned under you and that isn't something I can just ask for."

"Well, why the hell not?"

Jack blinked owlishly. "Other than the obvious mammal resources issue, for a start?"

The realization of what it would look like for her to have him pinned under her, let alone in the office, took the wind out of her sails. The intimacy of it registered moments afterwards and the whole situation changed in her mind. She thought he was cute, yes, and they worked well together, but this conversation verged on the inappropriate.

While she processed her situation, Jack continued. "As beneficial as it was, that was a moment of happenstance and not appropriate to a working relationship."

"And if I don't mind?"

"Miss Winters, what you're suggesting is frowned upon by the company. If you…"

Skye cut Jack off with a raised paw. "Enough, Jack. I'm not suggesting. I'm stating. We've been partners for a while and I'm not going to watch you fall apart again."

"Miss-"

Her paw came to rest on his shoulder, silencing him, and pushed him firmly back. "You call me Miss Winters when you want to put some distance between us. That won't work. Now, close your mouth."

Jack felt the cushioned chair at his back and snapped his mouth shut in the face of what was happening. His partner was a beautiful female and he'd appreciated her immensely since they'd gotten over their initial distrust, several years ago. Now, he was finding himself touched by her concern and excited by her behavior. It was not a reaction he had anticipated, especially in relation to a colleague.

"Mister Savage." She used her knuckle to lift his chin so their eyes met squarely. "We are going to have a conversation tonight over dinner. You are not going to find an excuse to avoid it. My apartment, 7:30. Don't be late."

"If we're to discuss what I think you're suggesting," Jack stammered as she collected her purse and headed towards the door, "It could have tremendous ramifications for us both!"

"Indeed, Mister Savage. For starters it'll mean you never call me anything other than Skye once we leave the office and _that_ is an order." She stared him down until his ears flopped behind his head and he nodded weakly. "Good boy. 7:30."

Once the door was closed behind her, she'd been trembling like a leaf, beet red in the face, and giddy. She barely remembered anything from then until Jack's arrival—the call she'd made to the canteen for dinner, her cleaning, dressing, and convincing herself that she wasn't out of her mind—it all passed in a blink. Then there he was at 7:31pm, knocking on her door in a three-piece suit, looking as nervous as she was and failing to hide it just as thoroughly.

Skye mused to herself as she waited. That was that start of everything; their relationship moving into the personal arena, her helping him with his stress, deepening the trust between them… _Some of the best sex she'd ever had_ , she thought as she grinned, and a few developments neither had seen coming. In their profession, there was usually a terminal lack of intimate relationships. There were too many factors to make it work usually. However, she and her little tiger of a hare had found a way.

The relationship they'd had as professionals had grown into something that was truly rare, a real partnership. As much as they had mastered compensating for each other's deficits in the office, they found it as simple a matter at home. Jack could cook and clean, while Skye was a masterful accountant and baker. Once the nervousness wore off and they weren't fired for having a personal relationship, they found the same easy rhythm applied and life got better.

The job had its demands, however. Sex was a powerful tool in their repertoire. The fledgling couple had agreed that what happened on the job was one thing and their home life was another. It took a little adjustment, but they both realized fairly quickly that they weren't threatened by the needs of the service, or even by their significant other showing interest in another mammal. It was healthy to notice attractive mammals, they realized, and it became an amusing pastime to point out passersby that they thought their better half would appreciate.

They were equals in every way, but there were also certain needs and wants they couldn't quite fulfill just between themselves. Jack's stress was one she could cover and her anxiety was Jack's domain of surety. There was genuinely nothing so comforting to her as her hare's use of floggers, but her needs were a big broader than that, as were Jack's. Blessedly, they were mature enough to speak about such things and come to an agreement. It was sheer dumb luck that they had found an outlet for their other needs that they agreed on. They'd come to consider it a treat.

As Jack returned, nude and eager, Skye posed the question. "Should I call Merlin?"

Jack paused, considering. "Not this evening. If we're going to see him, I want to be able to enjoy it properly."

"Also, you'd have a bit of difficulty afterwards."

"Less than you'd think, my dear." In response to her raised eyebrow, he smirked. "While you were in Madagascar last month, I was not idle."

"You'll have to tell me all about it, but first…" Skye trailed off and gestured to her lap.

Jack smiled and draped himself across it. As his mate's large paw came to rest across his shoulder, a thrill rolled through him. Strictly speaking it wasn't necessary for her to brace him anymore, but it had become a staple part or their ritual, just as the first light taps and caressing of the paddle were to his rear.

It was always the same to start—light taps to warm him up, leading in to firmer strokes. Skye had perfected her technique over the months and years to where she knew what he liked and could take, as well as what she could dish out. He was obviously in need of some serious impact, if he was asking for both paddle and paw, but it was a topic for later.

She began with light yet firm strokes interspersed with caressing his rear with the implement. Every dozen or so hits, she'd rest and stroke his ears and shoulders with her other paw. It was a sensory relaxant for the buck and helped sooth him into the next set of firmer, more penetrating strikes. She worked him over with the paddle, alternating cheeks, until he was warmed up and checked on him. He was breathing heavier and smiling as he gripped the edge of the cushion. He was ready.

"So, have we started yet?"

And feeling bratty.

"Oh! You want to skip straight to the paw, then?" She felt him stiffen on her thighs. "Because we can do that if you're feeling up to it."

"Um…"

"I think we'll do that tonight, then." She brought the paddle down firmly onto his left cheek, pulling a surprised squeak from his throat. "Right after I finish warming you up."

"I thought I was warmed up!"

"Apparently not. Apparently, we haven't started yet."

The strokes became firmer and the rests further between. Jack braced. Within two minutes, solid blows were raining down on his backside in no discernable pattern. He loved his mate for the fact that she could take control away from him so effectively, giving him nothing to latch onto with his mind. The strikes varied in placement, force, speed and number to the point where he couldn't even pretend to know what was happening. All he could do was exist in the moment and feel the tension bleed away as the paddle fell.

Skye, meanwhile watched his every twitch and wriggle with amusement and hawk-like focus, looking for her next target. She wanted him tender, not bruised and spread the impacts across his rear to accommodate. When his rump was warm to the touch she expanded onto his thighs with the paddle. It was a different kind of pain and the hare across her lap snapped his legs away from it with the first hit, leaving his rear exposed for a very solid smack.

"Criminy, woman!"

"Did the poor widdle wabbit like that?"

He blushed and a nervous grin spread across his face. "No?"

"So, I should do it again."

"Um…"

"What do we say when we want something?"

"Hurry up, already?"

She paddled his thighs and followed with another hit to his rump. "What was that?"

"I'll tell you after."

"Yes, you will."

The time for teasing was over and Skye went to work. No rests. No escape. Every hit was slow and solid. Every hit pulled a gasp of pain from her mate. It didn't take long for her to get what she was looking for. When Skye felt him panting and trembling, she knew he was almost at his limit. The tension in his back and shoulders were lessened and he was close to as far as he could go, but he'd asked for paw, as well. Setting the paddle to the side, he allowed her palm to caress his warm rump and thighs. He jumped at the contact, but made no move to get up.

Skye smiled as she cooed, "Think you can handle the full ten, tonight?"

"Try me," came the weary, yet feisty reply.

"Hold on, then, honey. Here it comes."

"Stop taunting me an giv-" Jack's breathy whining was cut off mid-word as her paw descended. Hard.

"One."

Jack chuffed a laugh and her paw fell again.

"Two."

This time he flinched and his grip tightened.

"Three."

The harder impact pulled a gasp from his mouth and he bucked as he lay.

"Four."

The squirming started.

"Five."

This time, she had to wait until he settled.

"Six."

He was biting his paw to muffle himself.

"Seven."

She gave him no time to rest before her paw fell again, even harder.

"Eight."

His wriggling was threatening to dump him on the floor, so she pressed him to her thighs and slammed one more into him.

"Nine."

Her paw stayed where it was, cupping his rear. He was trembling and panting like he'd been running. For a moment she considered asking him if he was alright, when he looked over his shoulder, smirking.

"Will I be getting ten, then? Or is your paw too tired?"

Skye grinned and lifted her paw one more time. This time she put her full strength into it, all the way from the shoulder.

Her count of, "Ten", was drowned out by her mate's shout, as her paw slammed down.

His breath was a ragged sob as the last of his bratty front failed him.

"Think you can handle three more, sweetheart?" she breathed into his ear.

The shake of his head was all the sign she needed. Skye lifted her mate gently off her lap and laid him on the couch before settling in behind him, pulling him tight against her front. They laid, curled up against each other, until his breathing evened out and the last of the tremors worked their way out of his frame. She idly ran her claws through his fur and doing that rumbling purr that foxes do when they're pleased while her wabbit recovered. Jack hated to end such a perfect moment, but there were things that they needed to attend to, like dinner. He also needed to thank his mate.

"My dear?"

"Hmm?"

"Why don't we see if Merlin's available after I get back from my little job tomorrow?"

"I think we should wait a bit."

"Feeling Jealous?" Jack teased.

"Hardly," Skye retorted as she booped his nose. "I would simply prefer to call on him when I have the time to enjoy his…"

"…Enthusiasm?"

"That's a much better word than the one I was thinking of."

"You're tired. Articulation requires energy."

Skye chortled. "How about next week? We have a three-day leave. That should give us time."

"To enjoy?"

"And recover."

Jack stretched and sighed in satisfaction. "Very well. Call him tomorrow. I'll be in final prep most of the day."

"Alright."

"Now, lets get dinner attended to. I would like to repay you for this evening."

"That depends on how you plan to do it, sweety. I don't need the floggers, tonight."

"I was going to demonstrate the uses of my silver tongue, if you weren't against it."

Skye grinned as she hopped up to follow Jack's lead toward the kitchen. This would be a very good night, indeed, and a treat to look forward to, to boot! She counted herself a very lucky vixen with every step.


End file.
